If you feel emotionally exhausted, cynical about your work, or like you’re no longer enjoying parts of the job you used to, you may be experiencing burnout.

In this episode of Office Hours, I explain what burnout is, how psychologists define it, and what the research shows about its effects on the brain and body. We discuss the workplace conditions most likely to cause burnout, why some occupations experience it more than others, and the self-reinforcing cycle that makes even meaningful work feel draining.

I also share five things employers can do to protect their employees from burnout and three practical ways individuals can create healthier boundaries between work and life so that each supports, rather than undermines, the other.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(04:45) The origins of burnout

(06:44) Herbert Freudenberger’s definition of burnout

(07:25) What the research shows about burnout today

(10:59) The three signs of burnout and Arthur’s experience

(16:40) The physiology of burnout

(20:14) The 7 causes of burnout

(30:29) The occupations with the most burnout

(35:10) Five things employers can do to safeguard against burnout

(38:10) #1 way to fight burnout: Create space

(40:54) #2 way to fight burnout: Work only in defined hours

(42:23) #3 way to fight burnout: Work on your spiritual/philosophical life

(44:15) Why remote work is not the answer to burnout

(45:35) Recap: 3 ways to fight burnout

(47:58) Q&A: Coping with being a full-time caregiver

(50:01) Q&A: Adapting protocols to your life

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Referenced:

• The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness: themeaningofyourlife.com

• Meaning Membership: https://hub.arthurbrooks.com/the-meaning-membership 

• Arthur’s newsletter: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter 

• The Happiness Scale: https://learn.arthurbrooks.com/the-happiness-scale 

• The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur Brooks: https://www.thefp.com/s/the-pursuit-of-happiness-with-arthur

• The Brothers Karamazov: https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0374528373

• Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year for employees: https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/about/press-room/poor-mental-health-costs-uk-employers-51-billion-a-year-for-employees.html

• Beyond Burnout: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/H0669W-PDF-ENG

• Burnout Test: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/burnout-at-work

• ...References continued at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.arthurbrooks.com/office-hours⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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